The starting grid for the 2026 DESDER Indianapolis 8 Hour has undergone a significant reshuffle after four of the 10 cars that took part in Friday’s Superpole lost their lap times for technical infringements.
The #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and #28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo all failed post-session ground clearance checks. Stewards subsequently invalidated each car’s Superpole lap, dropping all four down the order before Saturday’s eight-hour race.
Robby Foley therefore retains pole in the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO after originally beating Ayhancan Güven by just 0.002s in Friday evening’s Superpole. However, Güven will no longer share the front row with the BMW, with the GMG Porsche now set to start ninth.
Four Superpole cars lose times
The technical infringements affect almost half of the cars that progressed into the decisive 10-car shootout. GMG, Archangel, Lone Star and RS1 all had their Superpole times deleted after scrutineering identified ground clearance violations.
GMG suffers the largest setback. Güven had produced a 1:22.807 to finish only two thousandths behind Foley and secure what initially appeared to be second overall and Pro-Am pole. The penalty drops the #32 Porsche shared by Kyle Washington, Riccardo Pera and Güven to ninth on the grid.
Archangel also loses a top-five starting position. Aaron Telitz had put the #69 McLaren fifth in Superpole after Todd Coleman, Telitz and Thomas Fleming combined for second overall during regular qualifying. The deletion moves the Pro-Am entry back to seventh.
The #80 Lone Star Mercedes-AMG drops one place from seventh to eighth. Álex Palou contested Superpole for the car he shares with Lin Hodenius and Luca Stolz, with the latter entering Saturday’s race as one of the drivers still capable of winning the Intercontinental GT Challenge title.
RS1 receives the least significant numerical change after Jan Heylen originally finished 10th in Superpole. The #28 Porsche retains 10th on the final grid, although its shootout time has still been invalidated.
Dollahite Racing promoted to front row
The penalties promote Chris Mies and the #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO to second overall. Mies originally finished third in Superpole with a 1:22.868, only 0.063s away from Foley, and will now share the front row with Turner Motorsport.
The promotion rewards an impressive weekend for Scott Dollahite, Alex Sedgwick and Mies, who have remained among the leading Pro-Am cars throughout the Indianapolis event. Mies had already come close to provisional pole during Friday’s shootout before Foley and Güven delivered their final laps.
McCann Racing moves from fourth to third with the #8 Porsche. Alessio Picariello represented Michael McCann Jr. and Zachary Vanier in Superpole and produced a 1:23.146, leaving the Pro entry on the second row for Saturday’s start.
The #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo also gains two positions and will start fourth. Frederik Schandorff had placed the Ferrari sixth in Superpole behind Picariello and Telitz before the post-session technical checks reshaped the order.
AF Corse cleared after boost investigation
The AF Corse Ferrari also came under scrutiny following Superpole, although stewards ultimately took no action against the #12 entry.
Officials initially flagged the Ferrari for exceeding the permitted boost levels. However, the subsequent investigation determined that the team had been following instructions from SRO not to alter its pboost settings.
As a result, the Ferrari avoided a technical infringement and retains its Superpole time. Matías Pérez Companc, Nicklas Nielsen and Schandorff therefore benefit from the penalties elsewhere and move onto the second row.
The decision proves particularly important given the scale of the reshuffle. Had AF Corse also lost its Superpole time, five of the 10 shootout participants would have faced technical penalties before the race.
JMF entries move into fifth and sixth
Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports moves into fifth with the #34 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Michai Stephens, Mikaël Grenier and Maxime Martin. Grenier had originally placed eighth in Superpole but gains three positions because of the penalties ahead.
The result also strengthens Martin’s starting position for the IGTC title decider. He remains one of the drivers mathematically capable of overhauling championship leader Maro Engel, who is absent from Indianapolis while competing in the DTM finale at Hockenheim.
JMF’s Pro-Am #27 also makes a significant gain. Philip Ellis originally placed ninth in the shootout but moves to sixth, putting Jason Daskalos, Wyatt Brichacek and Ellis immediately behind the team’s Pro entry.
Archangel follows in seventh despite losing its Superpole time, with Lone Star eighth, GMG ninth and RS1 completing the top 10.
Revised Indianapolis 8 Hour top 10
The final starting grid was published at 11:00 EST on Saturday morning and confirms a 27-car field for the final Indianapolis 8 Hour.
- #29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Pro — Justin Rothberg / Connor De Phillippi / Robby Foley
- #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO — Pro-Am — Scott Dollahite / Alex Sedgwick / Chris Mies
- #8 McCann Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro — Michael McCann Jr. / Zachary Vanier / Alessio Picariello
- #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Pro — Matías Pérez Companc / Nicklas Nielsen / Frederik Schandorff
- #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports — Pro — Michai Stephens / Mikaël Grenier / Maxime Martin
- #27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — Jason Daskalos / Wyatt Brichacek / Philip Ellis
- #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — Todd Coleman / Aaron Telitz / Thomas Fleming
- #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing — Pro — Lin Hodenius / Luca Stolz / Álex Palou
- #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — Kyle Washington / Riccardo Pera / Ayhancan Güven
- #28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — Danny Dyszelski / Daan Arrow / Jan Heylen
The revision creates a very different front of the grid from the order established on Friday. Turner remains unaffected at the head of the field, but Dollahite now occupies the position previously held by GMG, while McCann and AF Corse move onto the second row.
BMW and Ferrari receive race-day BoP adjustments
The grid changes were not the only developments on Saturday morning. SRO Motorsports Group also issued revised Balance of Performance parameters ahead of the race, with adjustments made to both the BMW M4 GT3 EVO and Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.
BMW receives a boost reduction across almost all engine-speed ranges. The change affects Turner Motorsport, Random Vandals Racing and Riley Technologies among the BMW entries, including Foley’s pole-sitting #29.
Ferrari receives the opposite adjustment, with a small power increase through the mid-to-high RPM range. The change applies to the AF Corse and Scuderia Corsa entries as they prepare for the eight-hour contest.
SRO has made no changes to the minimum weights of any cars for the season finale.
Turner remains on pole for eight-hour finale
Despite the technical drama elsewhere, Turner Motorsport retains the position it earned on Friday. Foley’s 1:22.805 remains the fastest valid Superpole lap and puts the #29 BMW at the head of a revised 27-car field.
The changes behind considerably alter the complexion of the opening laps. Mies now starts directly alongside Foley, while Picariello and Schandorff form an all-Pro second row. GMG, which came within 0.002s of pole, faces a significantly more complicated race from ninth.
The penalties also affect several championship battles. Foley and Rothberg begin from pole as they chase the GTWC America Pro title, while Stolz and Martin now start eighth and fifth respectively in their attempts to overturn Engel’s IGTC advantage.
The 2026 DESDER Indianapolis 8 Hour begins at 12:30 EST on Saturday, with the technical infringements ensuring the final Indianapolis edition of the race will start with a considerably different order from the one established in Friday night’s Superpole.
